


The Time of Life is Short; To Spend That Shortness Basely Were Too Long

by XiroPaine



Series: Bandori Rarepair Week 2k19 [4]
Category: BanG Dream! (Anime), BanG Dream! Girl's Band Party! (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Injury, Light Angst, Matter of Life and Death, Monster Hunter AU, Non-Graphic Violence, himari ako saaya and hagumi are there super briefly, this got more philosophical than I originally intended, tsugu's also mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-05-31 12:12:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19425748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/XiroPaine/pseuds/XiroPaine
Summary: Tomoe ends up hurt after a hunt, but that’s just the reality of how dangerous being a hunter really is.Bandori Rarepair WeekDay 6 - AU / FutureMonster Hunter AU





	The Time of Life is Short; To Spend That Shortness Basely Were Too Long

**Author's Note:**

> So time sorta got away from me during this week. Writing every day is hard, but I really wanted to do this one. I guess you can lump together day 3 (established relationship, since I didn’t write anything for that), day 5 (angst), and day 6 (AU) together for this. Also, yeah. I took another Shakespeare quote as the title ‘cause I’m bad at titling works.

Since arriving in the New World, the Fifth Fleet always knew that the only way to survive in these new lands was to always be on your toes. Who knew what dangers laid hidden in these uncharted territories, or what sort of dangerous endemic life resided within them. Monsters posed the biggest threat; if left uncontrolled, these monsters could tip over the balance of the local ecosystem. That's where the hunters came in, and that's how Tomoe found herself—along with a small squadron of hunters—in the middle of the Ancient Forest fighting a wyvern at least ten times her own size.

Tomoe loudly clanged her blade against the front of her shield, trying to gain the monster's attention. A loud roar bellowed from the Rathian, causing the hunters to cover their ears momentarily from the sheer volume of it. As the tremors died down, Tomoe clenched her sword tighter as she burst forward with a battle cry of her own.

It was meant to be a signal, because as the Rathian turned to look at the charge blade wielder, it suddenly stumbled backwards as it ate several bullet shots to the neck. Saaya moved from her position from within the treeline, reloading her light blowgun in the process as she took up a closer position.

Tomoe grunted as she blocked the wyvern's claw attacks with her shield, digging her foot into the dirt to hold off as much as she could before dodge rolling to safety. While keeping the Rathian's attention on her, Tomoe could see from her peripherals two masses dashing towards the dragon from either flank. Another yell was heard to her left as Ako activated her demon mode before slashing at the monsters legs furiously with her dual blades. At the same moment, a kinsect impacted the Rathian's right side. A beat later, Hagumi vaulted herself into the air via her insect glaive before raining down her own fury of slashes from above.

The hunting party had been hunting this Rathian for the better part of the night. Tomoe hopefully thought that they could take down the monster by sunrise. Fatigue lingered heavily on Tomoe's body—health potions could only so much and what she really craved was some sleep. Luckily, the Rathian was on its final leg, and between the four of them, they could definitely take the monster down. Wanting to end the battle quickly, Tomoe spun around as she transformed her weapon into its axe form. Charging the Rathian head on, Tomoe aimed for a slice to the head. 

Perhaps it was her own exhaustion, or a final line of defense for the dragon, but Tomoe couldn't stop her momentum when she suddenly saw the Rathian spread its injured wings, clearly preparing for a frontward tail swing. Before she could process anything else, the wyvern's poisonous tail collided with her gut and she could feel her consciousness drain from her as the poison seeped throughout her body. She collapsed on the spot and in the last few moments before blacking out, she could faintly hear the sound of Saaya's voice drawing nearer and the feral roars of her sister in the distance as she slashed the Rathian to death.

=====

Tomoe woke up with a heavy groan. She could barely move as the pain coming from her torso rendered her nearly immobile. Opening her eyes slowly, she could see that she was back in her own private quarters within Astera. Her throat was dry, but didn't have the strength to sit up. Despite feeling utterly weak and useless, Tomoe couldn't help but smile at the sound of the concerned mew coming from her bedside as her palico partner realized she was awake.

"Paw-lease don't strain yourself much, Tomoe! You're still wounded," the pink-furred palico was already by her side ready with a glass of water and more medicine.

A choked laugh fell from Tomoe's lips as she finally managed to sit up in bed. She couldn't help but make light of the situation as she accepted the glass. "Gonna take more than a punch in the gut to take meow't, Himari."

Himari, as usual, pouted with a soft mew. Internally, however, the palico was glad that Tomoe was quickly back to her usual self. Even in the face of near death, the little banter between them was never lost on them. They were used to it by now, as this was just the nature of a hunter's line of work. Injuries happened often on hunts, and Himari knew this well, having been by the hunter's side since Tomoe was fresh out of the academy. Took awhile for Tomoe to finally get Himari to stop calling her "meowster," but they ended up building up a solid friendship after years and years of being hunting partners. There was a deep level of trust between them, considering they had to rely on each other in the field to ensure they got the other back safe and alive.

After Himari forced an extra dosage of mega nutrients down Tomoe's throat (Tomoe seriously hated those serums—like seriously, why drink that stuff when Tsugu's heavenly canteen cooking existed), the palico excused herself to relay a message to Ako that her sister was conscious again and doing well. Tomoe couldn't help but groan once she was alone, though. This really wasn't what she was expecting when she had wished to be back in bed. The plan was supposed to be to get a few hours of rest in before she and—

The front door burst open and red concerned eyes immediately locked onto Tomoe's blue ones. It was just like Kaoru to make a big entrance. She was out of breath, as if she had climbed the stairs all the way from the tradeyard. She was always too afraid to take the lifts, fearing she would somehow fall off. It wasn't often that you saw Kaoru flustered and panicked like this, but it'd be a lie if Tomoe didn't think it was kind of adorable.

"I came as soon as I could!" Kaoru said, now a little more at ease upon seeing that the hunter was just fine despite her injuries. "I wanted to come sooner, but I had to finish up your paperwork in regards to the last mission and—"

"It's fine, really," Tomoe reassured. "Took meds and the pain is slowly numbing out. Kinda sucks more than anything though, to be honest. I was really looking forward to taking you out tonight."

"Your well-being is much more important," Kaoru reasoned, though she was also a little disappointed. Of course she knew about the dangers of being a hunter; that's why Kaoru opted to become a guild receptionist instead. While all the paperwork wasn't the most lavish sort of work, she was still able to feel like she was a part of something bigger. Being accepted into the Research Commission that would travel to the New World was no easy task, but Kaoru preferred to be close to the action—without actually being involved in all the fighting. She remembered one time when Tomoe let her pick up her charge blade—or rather, try to pick up her charge blade. She could barely lift it off the ground, so swinging it around was definitely out of the question. How the hunters could skillfully wield giant hunks of metal as if they weighed nothing was beyond Kaoru and her flimsy build. Over a year ago, when the Fifth Fleet was setting out to the New World, Kaoru was (and still is) completely taken back at how lean yet well-defined Tomoe's body was when they were first partnered up together. That same body was now injured, and though Kaoru should be used to it by now, she still held a tint of worry every time she had to send Tomoe out into the field on a mission.

"Oi, Kaoru! You're thinking too much again," Tomoe cut in, disrupting Kaoru's thoughts. "I can see the cogs working overtime through your eyes. I'm fine, really. I always am."

"But what if one day you're not?!" Kaoru exclaimed suddenly but instantly felt remorse over her outburst. It was a selfish response; they knew exactly what they were signing up for when they joined The Hunters' Guild. That was the risk they took on willingly when they decided on this occupation. Tomoe couldn't help but sympathize, though. Even though she chose to become a hunter, that didn't make the daily struggles any easier for her either. Aside from having to keep her physical shape in peak condition, she also had to take care of her mental health...as well as her emotional health. If she lost her humanity, then she might as well be just like one of the monsters out there that she was tasked to hunt. Because of that, she ultimately decided on taking the carefree outlook on things because at the end of the day, she'd rather bask in the present than to just be wasting time worrying about what the future might hold.

"Then we might as well make the best of the time we have now, right?" Tomoe replied as she swung her legs over the side of the bed. She winced slightly as she stood up, but the medication was helping and she refused to be a sitting duck if she could help it. "As I recall, we had a date planned tonight."

Kaoru almost wanted to object, but she also knew Tomoe could be extremely stubborn. Plus, the hunter had a point. The end was inevitable, that much they knew for a fact, but life is more than just about surviving and they might as well make the best of it while they had it.


End file.
